Getting There: Are State Street parking spaces too narrow for SUVs?

Updated 11:49 am, Monday, June 18, 2012

Q: I think the city of Albany is doing a great job redoing State Street and putting in the new meters, which makes it much easier to use a credit card and change other than quarters, etc.

I don't understand, however, why they designed the parking spots to be as narrow as they did. I drive a Dodge Durango. While it is on the larger side, it's certainly not the biggest vehicle on the road. I usually cannot open the door to get out of my car when parking on State Street between two other cars, when all of us are within the white lines.

Previously I was ticketed for being "too far away from the curb" as I had to park back in order to get out of my car. This is a problem for me every time, and I am in downtown Albany frequently parking on State Street.

Am I the only one with this problem? I know they wanted to maximize the number of spaces, but these are way too narrow and are not practical for most drivers.

A:Steve Smith, the spokesman for the city on these issues, said the space should be sufficient for all kinds of vehicles.

"The parking spaces on State Street were designed to the width that would permit cars, SUVs or pickup trucks to park in the spaces as they did before the reconstruction project," he said. "The space width and angle were examined when we were developing the construction documents. Larger-size vehicles were kept in mind during this process. In the time that has passed since the completion of the project, we have received only a few calls regarding the parking spaces. The spaces are within the guidelines set for parking on a public roadway."

Other readers can weigh in on the Getting There blog as to whether they think the space is too tight.

Q: There's a traffic signal located at the intersection of Fonda and Middletown roads in Waterford. When driving from Fonda to the signal, it always takes 30 seconds for the light to change once the sensor is activated regardless of how long the light was green for Middletown traffic.

When the light was first installed a few years ago, it took about two seconds to start the change cycle as long as some period of time with no traffic (or the expiration of some time period with traffic) on Middletown was exceeded. In fact, this is how the signals work with traffic coming off Halfmoon Highway and Harris Roads, both of which intersect Middletown. Once the sensor is hit, the lights will change within two seconds given the no traffic or time period expiration conditions. I'd like to know why the cars coming off Fonda are forced to wait the full 30 seconds for the signal to change even though some period of "green" on Middletown has been exceeded.

"We have investigated the traffic signal timing at the intersection of Middletown and Fonda Roads," said Thomas A. Speziale, deputy commissioner of public works for Saratoga County. "Our investigation revealed that there was a problem with a component of the signal controller. We have corrected the problem and the timing should now be improved. Please extend our thanks to Mr. DerGurahian for bringing this issue to our attention."

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Hot spots

What to watch for this week:

Dunn Memorial Bridge, Albany to Rensselaer: Work continues but traffic is no longer limited to one lane eastbound. Westbound traffic is still one lane.

Fuller Road, Albany: The portion of Fuller Road between the I-90 interchange and Washington Avenue is scheduled be closed starting at 9 p.m. Friday and will reopen at 7 a.m. Monday, June 25. This will move traffic to the east side of the current Fuller Road alignment.

Interstate 787, Albany: The left lane of northbound Interstate 787 between exits 3 and 5 reopened to traffic, but the right lane will be closed until mid-August. The ramp from the 787 northbound entrance ramp from North Pearl Street will be closed to traffic until mid-August. Motorists will be detoured southbound on Water Street to the Broadway Connector and onto I-787 northbound. Vehicles may also choose to travel north on Broadway to access northbound I-787 at Exit 6.

Loudonville Road, Albany: Repairs will require closing lanes on the bridge carrying Loudonville Road over Interstate 90 near Exit 6 in Albany. The right lane both northbound and southbound directions will remain closed into July. One lane will remain open in each direction. The shoulders heading east and westbound will remain closed for the duration of the project.

Becker Road, Rotterdam: The bridge connecting Becker Road to Interstate 88 at Exit 25 will close to traffic while the deck is replaced. During construction, the on and off ramps to I-88 westbound will be closed, while the ramps to and from I-88 eastbound will remain open. There will be no access from Route 7 to I-88 westbound during construction. Traffic heading westbound on I-88 will follow a signed detour to Exit 24 in Duanesburg and will be rerouted onto I-88 eastbound back to Exit 25. Traffic heading west along Route 7 will continue along Route 7 to I-88 Exit 24.

Northway at Exit 14, Saratoga Springs: Single lanes will be closed as needed for work to replace the bridge carrying Route 9P over the highway.

Campbell Avenue, Troy: Closed as repairs are made to the utilities and the slope. The road is expected to be closed until July.

Congress Street, Troy: Closed for road work between 8th and 15th streets. Detour to Peoples Avenue.